Many holster designs incorporate retention elements for inhibiting inadvertent, unintentional, or unauthorized withdrawal of a retained handgun without consent of the handgun bearer. One traditional handgun retention element in holsters is friction retention within the holster cavity, through tight interference fit of the holster shell (e.g., shell molding) about the handgun surface and/or addition of biasing elements (e.g., tension springs) in the holster shell. The handgun bearer selectively overcomes the friction force in the holster shell, in order to draw the handgun from the holster. Another traditional handgun retention element is an external restraining strap, flap, or lanyard loop affixed to the holster shell that blocks removal of the handgun. The handgun bearer selectively releases the securing strap prior to drawing the handgun.
Military and law enforcement personnel must balance conflicting objectives to secure handguns within their worn holsters from inadvertent dropping during high physical exertion in the field and from unauthorized access by criminal suspects or enemy combatants, while maintaining ability to draw them quickly, under intense psychological pressure, in response to violent threats. Friction tension alone is often not considered satisfactory to prevent inadvertent dropping under high physical exertion or to prevent access by a determined aggressor. Externally accessible security straps are relatively slow for the gun bearer to release under violent stress, yet they are too easily accessible to a determined aggressor who is trying to disarm the gun wearer by snatching the handgun from the holster.
Responsive to the need to balance handgun security retention with speed of draw for law enforcement and military personnel, holster security retention features have been designed that are accessible to the handgun bearer's primary gun holding hand, yet relatively less accessible by aggressors positioned away from the handgun bearer. Some holster designs have incorporated pivoting hoods that in a locked vertical position block the retraction or draw path of a handgun out of the holster cavity. The pivoting hood is unlocked and pivoted forward by the handgun bearer, clearing withdrawal path of the handgun. Other holster designs, such as those shown in U.S. Utility Pat. No. 6,886,725, and in U.S. Utility Pat. No. 7,140,523 incorporate automatic locking features that engage within or against structural features of handgun surface, such as trigger guards, ejection ports, cylinders, or slide lightening holes. The automatic locking element blocks and prevents removal of the handgun from the holster shell until the handgun bearer selectively releases it—typically by thumb, index, or middle finger manipulation of a lever or button.
There is a growing trend within law enforcement and military services to mandate holsters with multiple, sequences of retention element deactivation, making it more difficult for an aggressor to disarm the handgun bearer, while conversely giving the handgun bearer more time to subdue the aggressor. Thus, a retention holster may employ sequentially one or more manipulations of a pivoting hood, followed by one or more manipulations of a releasing lever for an automatic lock, followed by overcoming friction retention against the handgun within the holster cavity.